Lexington Medical Center has launched its 2016 annual employee giving campaign with a special video showcasing how our hospital employees help each other and its community in times of need. The video features LMC employees and members of the community who received help through the Universal Employee Fund.

Each year, Lexington Medical Center employees donate more than $500,000 to the hospital’s Universal Employee Fund (known around here as UEF). In the last year, the money has helped employees in catastrophic situations including house fires, natural disasters, domestic violence, life-threatening medical situations and unaffordable funeral expenses.

In addition, funds are also designated for departments that request items or services to serve patients in need. Recently, that’s included an exercise program at Health Directions designed specifically for cancer patients, painted murals in pediatric patient areas and educational resources for Cardiac Rehabilitation patients.

The Lexington Medical Center Foundation built the garden after a generous donation from someone with a personal connection there.

“Mama Sue” was Dora Sue Porth Spires. Born in 1921 and raised on a farm in Lexington County, she adored gardening and music.

“My mom could touch a flower and it would grow. She could grow roses – and grew them nicely,” said Betty McWhorter, Mama Sue’s daughter.

Mama Sue spent the last three years of her life as a resident of Lexington Medical Center Extended Care, the hospital’s skilled nursing facility. When she passed away in 2000 after suffering from dementia, Mama Sue’s family wanted to find a way to honor her.

Betty McWhorter in Mama Sue’s Garden at Carroll Campbell Place

At the time, McWhorter was a member of the Lexington Medical Center Foundation board of directors and plans were in place for a garden at Carroll Campbell Place.

Because Alzheimer’s patients have a tendency to wander, the garden was designed with pathways in continuous loops.

One side features a soothing and relaxing water feature. The other has speakers for outdoor music.
With a generous gift from Mama Sue’s family, the hospital’s Foundation dedicated the garden in 2002 and named it

That’s what Barbara Brown’s grandchildren asked her after she had open heart surgery at Lexington Medical Center.

They were talking about the heart-shaped pillow that each heart surgery patient receives. Members of the patient’s care team sign it. And, sometimes, the surgeon draws on the pillow to explain the patient’s condition and how to fix it.

“The heart was a lifesaver,” Brown said. “I’d hug it after surgery and it made me feel more secure.”

The Lexington Medical Center Foundation provides the heart pillows, which are designed to support the chest when
patients cough or sneeze after surgery and to help them remember not to use their arms when standing and walking.

The pillows add some emotional comfort, too.

The retired Lexington County middle school math teacher’s heart troubles began early in 2013 when she experienced pain running down her arm while on a treadmill. She was also borderline diabetic, had high cholesterol and a history of heart disease in her family.

The problems multiplied one day when she was walking at Riverbanks Botanical Garden in Columbia with a friend.

“It felt like there was an elephant on my chest.” And her face was as pale as a ghost.

A cardiac catheterization at Lexington Medical Center revealed two blocked arteries. Brown underwent open heart surgery at the hospital on July 18, 2013, two days before her 63rd birthday.

After surgery, she began the hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation program, taking classes about nutrition and healthy eating, and working out on treadmills, bikes and elliptical machines in Lexington Medical Center’s nationally accredited cardiac rehabilitation facility.

“The thing I liked most was knowing that I was being monitored,” Brown said. “I felt confident knowing they were watching me.”

Statistics show that cardiac rehabilitation participants experience a 34 to 46 percent reduction in death rates compared to non-participants. Benefits also include reduced symptoms, increased energy, quicker return to work and leisure activities, and improved quality of life.

Cardiac rehabilitation is so important that the Lexington Medical Center Foundation offers scholarships to people in need who do not have the resources to pay for it. And the hospital’s Foundation pays for a DVD library to educate cardiac rehabilitation patients, flat screen televisions for the gym and waiting area, scales for patients to use at home, and tuition for smoking cessation classes.

These days, Brown eats healthy, keeps a food journal and exercises 30 minutes daily. She also takes care of two of her grandchildren two days per week. They like to play “hospital” in her house and hand her the heart pillow.

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This blog is intended for general understanding and education about Lexington Medical Center. Nothing on the blog should be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Blog visitors with personal health or medical questions should consult their health care provider.